The first time Seamus Weeks contacted a female high school friend online in an attempt to blackmail her into having sex with him, she called police who spoke to the then 18-year-old Central Saanich man and warned him not to repeat such behaviour.
That was September 2015. Last week that Weeks was sentenced to 18 months in jail for online child exploitation.
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On Oct. 31, Weeks was found guilty of several offences including luring persons under 18 by telecommunication, possession of child pornography, invitation to sexual touching, criminal harassment, uttering threats and extortion.
In addition to 18 months in jail, he has a six-month conditional sentence and three years probation. He will also be listed on the national sex offender registry for life.
Until his arrest in June 2016, court documents show Weeks – who was attending university in Kamloops when he contacted the first young woman – “targeted younger girls as he believed they would be more likely to comply with his demands,” some via text and others through social media.
Weeks regularly harassed 14 women between the ages of 13 and 19, threatening to publish intimate photos and videos they had sent him, if they did not perform sexual acts for him and send photos and videos, sometimes under the false identity of “Brook Simper.”
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Some of the victims told Weeks they were uncomfortable and ceased communication while others experienced anxiety and depression.
“I can’t take it anymore. I just want to [expletive] kill myself,” one told him.
In at least one circumstance, Weeks made plans to meet one of his victims in person, but left when he saw she was not alone.
In January 2018, a doctor who relied upon a risk assessment conducted by Andrew McWhinnie, a Victoria-based counsellor who specializes in treating men who are experiencing difficulty with inappropriate sexual attraction found Weeks “represented an above average risk for future sexual recidivism.”
“Mr. Weeks has a long way to go to learn from his behaviour and not reoffend,” he noted.
For additional information about sextortion, support resources, and how to report incidents, visit cybertip.ca/app/en/internet_safety-sextortion.
